Strategic Communications Director

M&C Saatchi World Services is a full-service marketing company renowned for using commercial advertising to solve the world’s toughest challenges. World Services is a specialty branch of M&C Saatchi Group, and we provide strategic communications, behavior change, and marketing support to Public Sector clients with special emphasis on the US Federal Government and State, Local, Tribal, & Territorial leaders.

M&C Saatchi seeks a Strategic Communications Director to serve as the lead subject matter expert for enterprise-wide communications strategy within a large federal and DoD-aligned mission environment. This role ensures unified messaging across directorates, drives strategic communications planning, advises leadership on narrative direction, and ensures alignment with mission priorities and stakeholder needs.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Senior Communications Strategist plays a central leadership role in shaping the enterprise communications posture, harmonizing cross-functional messaging, and guiding the long-term communications roadmap to support mission outcomes.

This is a hybrid role; however, the ideal candidate will live in either the greater New York City area or the greater District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) region.

What you'll do:

• Oversee enterprise-wide strategic communications planning and execution.

• Serve as the lead SME on integrated communications strategy and narrative cohesion.

• Provide strategic counsel to leadership on communications posture, message risks, and alignment opportunities.

• Lead cross-directorate messaging coordination to ensure synchronized communications across all mission areas.

• Develop enterprise messaging frameworks, strategic guidance, and communication playbooks.

• Ensure consistency and accuracy of messaging across all digital, print, and stakeholder-facing channels.

• Support policy-related communications, leadership briefings, and enterprise announcements.

• Coordinate with UX, content, visualization, and technical teams to produce mission-aligned communication products.

• Oversee communication analysis, sentiment insights, and performance reporting.

• Partner with outreach, engagement, and program teams to ensure integrated stakeholder communications.

• Maintain compliance with accessibility standards, federal communications guidance, and branding policies.

You’ll bring:

• Candidate must possess a Tier 2 Moderate Risk Public Trust (from any federal agency) or an active Secret clearance or higher.

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Affairs, Strategic Communications, Marketing, or a related field.

• Proven experience in communications, public affairs, strategic messaging, or enterprise communications leadership.

• Experience supporting federal or DoD strategic communications efforts.

• Demonstrated success leading integrated communications initiatives across multiple organizations.

• Experience advising senior leaders on communication risks, priorities, and strategic direction.

• Experience guiding message development and alignment across digital and traditional channels.

• Strong understanding of enterprise communications strategy, narrative development, and stakeholder engagement.

• Familiarity with federal communication requirements, branding guidance, and accessibility standards.

• Experience supporting multichannel communication workflows and governance.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills suitable for senior leadership.

• Strong executive communication and narrative-shaping abilities.

• Ability to lead cross-functional messaging alignment efforts.

• High emotional intelligence and diplomacy in stakeholder environments.

• Analytical skills for evaluating communication effectiveness and strategic impact.

• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy, consistency, and clarity.

Bonus points if you have:

• Experience with sentiment analysis, communication metrics, or engagement analytics.

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